Chestnut Holdings manages more than 6,000 apartments in approximately 134 buildings, most of which are located predominantly in low-income communities of color in the Bronx. The suit alleges that Chestnut Holdings has put the health of its tenants at risk by repeatedly violating the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, which requires property owners to take several critical measures to prevent children under six from being exposed to paint with dangerously high levels of lead. In the state of New York, its illegal for landlords to deny housing to voucher recipients. The Office of Attorney General does not make any promises, assurances, or guarantees as to the accuracy of the translations provided. As a result, at least 18 children residing in 17 different properties owned or managed by Endzone experienced lead poisoning. On February 6, 2018, Plaintiff Huggins filed a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court Southern District of New York against CHESTNUT HOLDINGS OF NEW YORK INC.; 1425 U LLC; and JONATHAN WIENER, individually, (collectively, where appropriate, as Defendants), alleging upon knowledge as to himself and his own actions and upon information and belief as to all other matters, as follows: Plaintiff Huggins worked for the Defendants, a family-owned real estate investment and property management firm, as a superintendent from 2009 until Defendants terminated his employment on May 11, 2018 in retaliation for filing this lawsuit in February 2018. And we greatly appreciate the attorney generals willingness to pay attention to the call for action from local stakeholders, including Families for Lead Freedom Now, and to pursue a bright line against childhood lead poisoning in Syracuse.. The landlords frequently allowed paint on their properties to deteriorate to the point of being a lead hazard instead of preventing deterioration of paint, as required by local and state building codes, and only addressed the lead hazard after a lead-poisoned child was discovered. Childrens lives and futures are a stake in this ongoing effort, and the actions we take today will help to safeguard our youth and punish those who would harm them., Families living in Buffalos older, distressed properties are disproportionately vulnerable to the serious health consequences of lead poisoning, said U.S. Representative Brian Higgins. This highly toxic metal causes serious and irreversible harms, and I am committed to ensuring that landlords follow the laws to protect young children from lead poisoning.. quoteRotator.delay=5;quoteRotator.fadeDuration=1;quoteRotator.fadeoutDuration=2;quoteRotator.quotesInit(); At Chestnut Holdings, we value our relationships with our tenants and are dedicated to building and preserving our tenant communities. On February 6, 2018, Plaintiff Huggins filed a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court Southern District of New York against CHESTNUT HOLDINGS OF NEW A 2017 Reuters investigation revealed that several zip codes in the city of Buffalo were some of the most saturated lead-burdened communities in the country, which is why I cosponsor Dakota's Law in the State Senate. ". We must prevent exposure to lead by taking bold and consistent steps to protect families., We thank New York Attorney General Letitia James for bringing this significant lawsuit," said Sonal Jessel, policy and advocacy coordinator, WE ACT for Environmental Justice. 95 Students Unveil Artwork in Sheridan Avenue Apartment Lobby , Supporting Art for Children in the Bronx Culturally and Financially . This particular plaintiff was forced to remain in a homeless shelter for seven more months after the incident with Chestnut. We must build on the attorney generals work to make sure everyone is safe from this avoidable neurotoxin., It is great justice that Chestnut Holdings is being held accountable for their actions, that primarily affected families in the Bronx, said New York CityCouncil Member Eric Dinowitz. Additionally, in September 2020, Attorney General James sued a group of Buffalo individuals and companies for repeated violations of city, county, state, and federal laws by illegally allowing lead paint-related hazards to accumulate in their rental properties. Mehdi Bolour faces 25 criminal charges over illegally rented Hollywood building, More than 1,000 children in public housing have had high levels of lead since 2012, Landlord groups say lead poisoning laws will hurt affordable housing, Chestnut Holdings buys Bronx-centric 19-building retail portfolio, High Street, Daiwa bring resi to River Oaks, St. Charles revamp of torched resort takes center stage in local City Hall races, LIV plans massive resi project in Fort Worth, KBS deal to sell Union Bank Plaza to Joel Schreiber delayed for 9th time. The Office of Attorney General's website is provided in English. NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. Lead is a highly toxic metal that can cause serious and irreversible adverse health effects. 15 Cheap and Underrated Ideas For Spring Break in NYC, Gears to Grind: The State of Biking in NYC, Fort Greene Neighborhood Guide: The Chill and Family Friendly Neighborhood. WebNEW PALTZ, N.Y. Chestnut Petroleum Distributors Inc. (CPD) debuted a new logo and branding for its Chestnut Markets through a partnership with GSP. This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Abigail Katowitz and Patrick Omilian, Environmental Scientist Jennifer Nalbone, Investigator Joseph Kelly, and Project Assistant Isabel Murphy, all under the supervision of Environmental Protection Bureau Chief Lemuel M. Srolovic. Plaintiff Huggins brings this action on himself and all similarly situated current and former employees pursuant to the FLSA and NYLL. HONORABLE PAUL A. CROTTY United States District Judge. I thank our attorney general for putting our children first and ensuring that a message is sent to all landlords, that neglectful and dangerous behavior will no longer be accepted., Not only is New York Attorney General Letitia James holding criminally negligent landlords accountable for putting the health of our children at risk, but she is also using funds from these fines to protect other children from toxic lead poisoning, said Sonal Jessel, policy director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Endangering a child in the place they are supposed to feel most secure is the worst form of exploitation., We have been working hard to protect families from lead paint poisoning in Erie County and I thank the Attorney General for bringing this lawsuit against scofflaw landlords who refuse to do their part in the fight, said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. On 04/29/2020 Avery, Mary filed a Property - Other Property lawsuit against 1560 GC LLC Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc Wiener, Jonathan Rieder, Ben Department of Buildings Department of Housing Preservation and Development.This case was filed in Bronx County Courts, Bronx County Civil Court located in Washington, New The suit alleges that Chestnut Holdings has put the health of its tenants at risk by repeatedly violating the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, which requires property owners to take several critical measures to prevent children under six from being exposed to paint with dangerously high levels of lead. Nathaniel Ari Weisbrot, Esq. Google Translate cannot translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. The rate of lead poisoning in New York City is highest in children of color and those who live in low-income areas. This is unacceptable, and I am very proud of Attorney General Letitia James for her work to hold Chestnut Holdings accountable., Many of my Bronx constituents have been exposed to dangerously high levels of lead paint in their homes, putting young children at risk, said State Assemblymember Kenny Burgos. The event brought out close to 100 volunteers who enjoyed a great This matter is being handled by Attorney General James Environmental Protection Bureau by Assistant Attorney General Abigail Rosner, Special Counsel Sara Haviva Mark, Assistant Attorney General Samantha Liskow, Deputy Bureau Chief Monica Wagner, Chief Scientist Jodi Feld, Environmental Scientist Jennifer Nalbone, Environmental Science Intern Jeffrey Fralick, and Amanda Moody, Legal Assistant II, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Lemuel M. Srolovic. In 2013 Chestnut acquired the Shalom Aleichem Houses, three distressed properties made up of 15 buildings, in Van Cortland Village in the Bronx. As Buffalo continues to have some of the highest rates of childhood lead poisoning in the country, my office will continue to hold bad actors responsible. WebNew York, commenced this action on February 27, 2020 against defendant Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc. (Chestnut) pursuant to New York Executive Law 63(12) Chestnut Holdings has recently come under fire for allegedly turning away tenants with housing vouchers. In September 2020, she sued a group of Buffalo individuals and companies for repeated violations of city, county, state, and federal laws by illegally allowing lead paint-related hazards to proliferate in their rental properties. I applaud Attorney General James ongoing efforts to enforce the citys lead law and hold landlords that violate this law accountable.. : 18-cv-1037. The Dark History of the Empire State Building, How to Become a Digital Real Estate Investor in the Metaverse. A group of eight New Yorkers is suing a Bronx real estate company for allegedly refusing to accept housing vouchers as rent payment. This case will help our call for stronger enforcement of the key provisions of the law that were designed to remove lead from the environment before people are exposed to this neurotoxin. We have met with the staff personally to Additionally, Chestnut Holdings repeatedly certified, in new leases, that it had complied with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Acts turnover requirements, even though it had not done so. This highly toxic metal causes serious and irreversible harms, and I am committed to ensuring that landlords follow the laws to protect young children from lead poisoning.. Exposure to lead paint in our aging housing stock puts children in grave jeopardy and our future at risk, James said in a statement. All rights reserved 2023 The Real Deal is a registered Trademark of Korangy Publishing Inc. Veritas $450M loan default: A sign of things to come? Using shell companies to avoid complying with city rental registration requirements; Failing to comply with city and state property management and real estate broker licensing requirements; Conducting business in New York without authority to do so from the Department of State; and. Understanding Recent Changes to New Yorks Gun Laws, Repeated and Persistent Violations Result in Continuing Health Risks, Dozens of Reported Childhood Lead Poisonings. We held a ceremony for the culmination of the six-month project and discussed with the students how the art reflected people and images in the Bronx community that were memorable to them. 1037 (PAC). This administration has made it clear that landlords who disregard their responsibilities and put tenants in danger will not fly under the radar. Topics you care about, straight to your inbox. Every family deserves to live in a home free of lead hazards, and I will work to ensure that happens.. The Environmental Protection Bureau is led by Lemuel M. Srolovic. The OAG will continue to work with them and other dedicated local partners to continue to make progress in combatting childhood lead poisoning in the region. Chestnut Holdings will pay $300,000 to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for initiatives to protect children from lead poisoning and ensure that all of its more The passage of the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act in 2004 made it possible to systematically and equitably erase lead hazards in housing across the city and promised to end childhood lead poisoning by 2010. Last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law four bills targeting landlords to strengthen enforcement of lead-paint rules. View Case; Cited Cases; ALEJANDRO HUGGINS, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. forms until after the February 18 deadline had passed, and (2) did not receive any text message notice about this lawsuit, Decl. Chestnut workers (from left) Francisca Orduna, Luis Dominguez, Maria Orduna, Teodoro Santos are suing over their April 5 ordeal. Chestnut Holdings, Regulation. James says at this point, there is no evidence of children being sick. Im thankful to the Office of the Attorney General for using its power to protect some of the most vulnerable children in our community, and I look forward to continuing to work with all of our partners to address this important issue., We thank Attorney General Letitia James for pursuing this important case, said Paul Ciavarri, community organizer, Legal Services of Central New York. NEW YORK New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement in her lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc. (Chestnut Holdings), a property management corporation, over its failures to protect children from lead paint hazards in New York City. Morrison said she was devastated and humiliated by the experience. Please click on the link below to access our payment processing portal- provided through ClickPay http://login.clickpay.com/chestnutholdings The case status is Pending - Property owners and managers that knowingly rent substandard units to low-income residents ought to be punished to the full extent of the law. Select a Language Below/Seleccione el Idioma Abajo. She's passionate about the future of work and helping Latin American freelancers achieve time, location, and financial freedom. The Judge overseeing this case is John Preston Bailey. Our Church has had a great relationship with our landlord, Chestnut Holdings, for over fifteen years. )D Beginning in the 20th century, paint with dangerously high levels of lead was used on both exterior and interior surfaces of housing in the United States. 910 Franklin Avenue Suite 200 Garden City, NY 11530 Tel: 516-248-5550 Fax: 516-248-6027, 655 Third AvenueSuite 1821 New York, NY 10017 Tel: 212-679-5000 Fax: 212-679-5005, Copyright 2023 EmploymentLawyerNewYork.com |, Separation Agreements and Severance Packages, Marital Status Discrimination and Harassment, Sexual Discrimination and Harassment In The Workplace, Sexual Identity Discrimination and Harassment, Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Harassment, Civil Rights and Constitutional Law Claims, National Origin Discrimination and Harassment, Whistle Blower Protection and Retaliation, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, Borrelli & Associates, PLLC Reviews on ProvenCredible. This Google translation feature is provided for informational purposes only. This action by Attorney General James holds those who have repeatedly violated housing codes accountable and protects the health and safety of our children., Lead exposure continues to be a very real problem across New York state, and our children are suffering long-term as a result, said StateSenator Tim Kennedy. The OAG also found that Kiggins and Endzone engaged in repeated illegal and fraudulent acts by either not providing federally required lead disclosures or providing materially false and deceptive lead disclosures to tenants and purchasers of Endzoneproperties. We acknowledge the hard work of the attorney generals legal team to bring this case to a swift and successful conclusion. WebOn 06/13/2020 KOU, SHIN MING filed a Small Claim - Other Small Claim lawsuit against CHESTNUT HOLDINGS OF NEW YORK INC.This case was filed in Queens County Courts, Queens County Civil Court located in Washington, New York. Chestnut Holdings manages more than 6,000 apartments in approximately 134 buildings, most of which are located in the Bronx. Having lead paint in an apartment is not necessarily illegal if there is no risk of exposure, but when building owners paint over it rather than remove it which is expensive it can eventually resurface. In October 2000, partnerships comprising Lenfest and several other individuals involved in the Philadelphia real estate scene, along with a related entity The New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act requires owners of apartments and houses built before 1960 to take critical safety measures to prevent lead poisoning in children tenants. 516- ABOGADO (226-4236) Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that in 2017, 715 children in Erie County under six years of age tested with blood lead levels between 5 and 9 g/dL, filed a lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc., a property management corporation, for failing to comply with provisions of New York Citys lead poisoning prevention law. Back in Plaintiff Huggins regularly worked as many as seven days and well over 40 hours each week, including the requirement that he be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to deal with any issues in the residential multifamily properties that the Defendants owned. 3136 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<31CF17F26827B64D9D1C3BD947307B0A><1127F07792CB7B4EA4E7A2D6EC3485F1>]/Index[3118 28]/Info 3117 0 R/Length 89/Prev 699633/Root 3119 0 R/Size 3146/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream Children under the age of 6 are more likely to be exposed to lead than any other age group, as their normal behaviors could result in them chewing lead paint chips; breathing in or swallowing dust from old lead paint that gets on floors, windowsills, and hands; and lead can be found in soil, toys, and other consumer products. The group also consistently violated federal lead disclosure requirements by providing either no lead disclosure statement to tenants or false disclosures, which stated that the landowner had no reports of lead paint or lead paint hazards, when in fact there were multiple reports of lead paint and lead paint hazards regarding the residences. aZQYN{2}hh@HK!6hvy%o);QnTy8+O'hNiMV\oyr%*;eZ=qW*^t:%PnOLi).d: 4{9UYQdOEix.4a:lEL&J?|HWR(zNLy94oMeu5KiEpyGVO4,W %7,K (5ioR#X ~Pl ql+zO] 9 00X=f[Pz@?}}^V Fqr'T6$;ry,I|q4\ ]U**ccpX4U]UE~"i$>(0-&YD-i9j_2")O-m rAyR{ Attorney General James thanks Erie County and the city of Buffalo for their partnership and for providing critical information for this complaint. Last Updated on 12 months by Vivian Tejada, The best of the city, straight to your inbox, 8 New Yorkers Sue Chestnut Holdings for Housing Discrimination. In 2020, an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that over a period of more than six years, at least 18 children were poisoned by lead paint while residing in 17 of Endzones estimated 89 properties. The landlord also falsely certified in new leases that it had complied with the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, the complaint alleged. ` *d * $4%Y1\ - Z:q;.&&c60e`tIrS*hd Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Peter D. Lopez, Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced today that the United States has entered into a Consent Decree settling a civil lawsuit against Chestnut Petroleum Distributors, Inc., and its affiliates hbbd``b`9$>`n> 1 u) q "D,i. Vouchers such as FHEPS, CityFEHPS, and HRA subsidies are provided to New Yorkers with the intention of keeping them out of homeless shelters. NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. Beginning in the 20th century, paint with dangerously high levels of lead was used on both exterior and interior surfaces of housing in the United States. Throughout Plaintiffs employment, Defendants willfully failed to pay Plaintiff the overtime wages lawfully due to him under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL). I thank Attorney General James and our partners at Onondaga County for helping us put a stop to the bad practices of John Kiggins and Endzone Properties once and for all, said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. It is as immoral as it is illegal that a landlord would knowingly expose families to lead poisoning, which disproportionately threatens the health and development of Black and brown children, said Attorney General James. Some of the worst landlords in our city put the health and safety of New Yorkers at risk to protect their own profits, and Chestnut Holdings is near the top of my office's list, said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. 2 3-4, endstream endobj startxref In the state of New York, its illegal for landlords to deny housing to voucher recipients. As we have seen with the tragedy in Flint, Michigan, lead can pose a serious safety issue with devastating effects on our most vulnerable populations. Op. However, it is 2020 and we still have thousands of cases of New York City children that tested positive for lead poisoning, and it is children from low-income communities and communities of color, like those we represent in Northern Manhattan, that suffer the most. The investigation was initiated in 2017, according to a source familiar with the matter. 18 Civ. Initiating evictions of tenants in lead-poisoned houses in violation of New York law. These include annual inspections and ensuring that an apartment is code compliant when a tenant moves into their new home. If such properties are properly maintained, however, lead poisoning can be prevented. What we do have is the fact that the landlord, unfortunately, has not complied with the law and as a result of that, he again, it poses a threat to all of the children who are currently residents in this building, she says. The Environmental Protection Bureau is part of the Division of Social Justice, led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux, and all under the oversight of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy. James says her office reached out multiple times to Chestnut Holdings, but did not get a response. In September 2021, Attorney General James announced an agreement in her lawsuit against Chestnut Holdings, a property management corporation, over its failures to protect children from lead paint hazards in New York City. Elevated blood lead levels are also more prevalent in Buffalos low-income neighborhoods than high-income neighborhoods. I applaud Attorney General James for taking swift action to hold landlords and management companies accountable that put their tenants at risk. 3118 0 obj <> endobj Hopefully, legal actions like this one will send a message to others who might choose to ignore lead poisoning prevention laws that such behavior will not be tolerated. 9 mins read Chestnut Holdings Will Pay $300,000 for OAG Programs to Protect Children From Lead Poisoning, Ensure All Apartments Are Fully Compliant With The Office of Attorney General does not make any promises, assurances, or guarantees as to the accuracy of the translations provided. The State of New York, its officers, employees, and/or agents shall not be liable for damages or losses of any kind arising out of, or in connection with, the use or performance of such information, including but not limited to, damages or losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy of any such information, or damages incurred from the viewing, distributing, or copying of such materials. NYC workers forced to strip as boss hunted for stolen cash, lawsuit says. He eventually received help from Breaking Ground, a permanent supportive housing provider. NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. This group of landlords and property managers put low-income Buffalo communities at extreme risk, and today we are holding them accountable. A copy of this disclaimer can also be found on our Disclaimer page. The company was later dropped from the suit. The violations by the group, which has owned and managed more than 150 single- and two-family homes in predominantly low-income communities of color, has led to dozens of reported instances of childhood lead poisoning. I am holding Endzone fully accountable for their deplorable and illegal actions, and I will continue to use the full force of my office to uphold the laws that protect our children from lead poisoning.. Back in 2018, a woman sued Chestnut Holdings for failing to accept her, Tips for Remote and Hybrid Learning in NYC. This kind of enforcement is an important aspect of our states larger efforts to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to high-quality, safe, and affordable housing, said State Senator Brian Kavanagh. This matter is being handled by the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York Attorney Generals Office and is led by Assistant Attorneys General Matthew Eisenson and Patrick Omilian, Special Assistant Attorney General Marissa Lieberman-Klein, Environmental Scientist Jennifer Nalbone, Science Interns Meredith Seibold and Serena Labrecque, and GIS Intern Gregory Welter. Chestnut exceeds any reasonable standards in inspecting its units and trying to address all safety concerns, especially the presence of lead, a spokesperson for the landlord said. From 2018-present, the eight plaintiffs in the case experienced a range of discrimination from brokers and agents employed by Chestnut Holdings.
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